Are you still sticking to ALL of the rules?

[CallTheSheriff]

Our family has followed all rules to date but with two weeks left until social contact restrictions are lifted I see more and more people using a ‘common sense’ approach for their own risk.

My DC go to school (primary), attend swimming lessons, attend dance classes and indoor football classes but we decline the offer of play dates with other DC in their class.

DH and I have not mixed indoors with any other adult since last March. We both WFH and are both partially vaccinated. We do not attend gyms etc as we didn’t pre covid anyway.

Our friends and family think we are being OTT, especially in not allowing DC to visit others after school but allowing them to attend classes.

It made me wonder how others are doing it?

I sort of broke one to go into the garden of a friend eho lives alone when she was diagnosed with cancer so that she would not be alone with the news.
Since her operation, I have been inside her house to do tasks such as the laundry or filling kettles, making meals.
A small group of us have been doing this, but I suppose it could be justified ibder the 'help for vulnerable person" exception.
Otherwise, yes, I am following the rules.

@CallTheSheriff I’d allow the play date for your son. It’s so important for children to have social interaction for their development and wellbeing. I’ve allowed play dates with no social distancing for my baby as I’m not going to let her development be affected by this. Everyone I know is doing the same for their babies and children. The virus is so low risk to them, it’s not fair that they are so negatively impacted.

I’ve been inside parents house for a cupa, given a friend or 2 a lift in my car to lunch. I don’t check in with track and trace, see way more than 6 people outside since last June really. My kids don’t socially distance at all with their friends or friends parents.

Also children aren’t going to be vaccinated for a long time. There’s talk of potentially vaccinating children over 12 in autumn but for younger children it will be a long wait. The risk to them is so low and won’t change with no chance of vaccination. It’s fine to let them play with others, they need it.

Yep. I work in the NHS (remotely) so I see what’s been happening and will continue to follow the rules.

Not all rules, no.

Since last summer we've allowed Dd (then 18) to have her boyfriend in the house and stay over.

Since Dd went to university she has been welcome to return home and stay here as often as she likes.

Since Christmas we have seen parents indoors, albeit that's only happened with my parents 3 times since mid December as they live a distance away. Not overnight, but during the day. With dh's mum she lives closer and we have seen her a bit more. We lost FIL at start of lockdown and not a chance we weren't seeing here. Not a bubble as she also sees bil and his girls, plus some close friends. Since they've all been fully vaccinated she sees her friends indoors too.

Before Christmas we followed most rules, except for the 3 family funerals where we didn't socially distance from close family on the day. These were all very restricted on numbers anyway.

I mix all day every day with classes of children anyway.

I haven't seen any friends indoors since the last time we were 'allowed' but have given up on immediate family distancing.

I have had covid and I am partially vaccinated.
Dh is partially vaccinated.
Me and teen Dd do twice weekly LFTs. Dh does them occasionally, usually before a non SD visit from parents.

I always wear a mask where required.
I always sanitise and practise good hand hygiene.

If you don’t like the law/rules then don’t vote conservative!

I don't.

I am sticking to the laws but not some of the advice, I don't SD from some people in different households but that is advice not law.

I haven't seen any law against hugging though I am not a hugger anyway

"but when does mental health become a factor in a decision to “break the rules”?"

We haven't stuck rigidly to guidelines to avoid ds need increasing medication and unsafe distressed behaviour.

Ds meets a family member inside the house because there is good chance he would be unable to go outside and he needs to remain in contact with them in case they need to help us in an emergency.

We didn't see them for the first few months of the first lockdown and it then took him weeks to accept them near him.

People who talk about others thinking they are 'special' have no idea.

I am seeing my mum and nan. Kids are going to their other nans as well as my mum (who was a childcare bubble) We have had a few people in the house over recent weeks. I arent really leaving the house other than to go camping at the weekends and then we see our friends who come with us. Which is allowed.

We're largely compliant and I wear a mask when required, but I've had a friend and my DPs in my house and I've been inside three friends' houses. There are an estimated 9 cases in my town of 60,000 so the chances of anyone I know being infected are infinitesimal.

DH and I have not mixed indoors with any other adult since last March. We both WFH and are both partially vaccinated. We do not attend gyms etc as we didn’t pre covid anyway

But that's a different approach to sticking to all of the rules, isn't it? Two household meetings indoors were allowed last summer, and gyms were open - assuming you don't live in the part of Leicestershire where restrictions only eased for a few weeks.

People may be sticking to all the rules and still think you're over the top for following self-imposed restrictions which are more stringent than the official guidance.

Pretty much until the w/e when it was MIL's 90th. Close family only but indoors. Most of us fully vaccinated, the others tested that morning.

Also DSis is coming to stay this w/e. She's single and has had a torrid time lately and badly needs some TLC. Again fully vaccinated.

I'm not gleeful and would rather wait because I'm a natural rule-follower but needs must.

I will save all the licking until after the 17th

Yes. My area is a current hotspot with comparatively high and rising rates.

I have followed all the rules all the way through from last March until my birthday yesterday. It was absolutely pissing down and freezing all day. So couldn’t go anywhere, other than local shopping centre where I work but didn’t want to go there! When my parents popped round with a card I invited them in. They were here for a couple of hours and it was really really nice. Then my best friend who doesn’t drive got a lift off her sister to come a good half an hour journey to drop a present off. It was a total surprise and I invited her in. She only stayed 5 minutes as they had to go food shopping. It felt absolutely lovely to have a house full and it really made my 41st birthday. Obviously my 40th last year was a complete non event. We’ve all had at least 1 vaccine didn’t social distance, there’s no room in my house but no hugging kissing etc

@SinkGirl

"Yep. I work in the NHS (remotely) so I see what’s been happening and will continue to follow the rules."

If you work remotely how have you seen what's been happening?

I’ve started having my friends over now or we go to them, and yes for over nights, we are all partially or fully vaccinated, comply in every other way and one even gets tested twice a week for his work.

Yes, I’ve stuck to the rules. It’s people not sticking to them that helped cause the thousands of deaths.

@Overthebow I have considered allowing him to go but I’m not brave enough to deal with the judgement

I’ve allowed him to accept an invite to go to a friend’s garden but with the weather forecast for rain all week, we may end up cancelling at the school gates. It just feels so harsh.

I do wish older children had been considered more in all of this.

[quote sunsetsand]@SinkGirl

"Yep. I work in the NHS (remotely) so I see what’s been happening and will continue to follow the rules."

If you work remotely how have you seen what's been happening? [/quote]
🙄

We have these things called “meetings” where I am informed about the number of service users in the ward with COVID, the number of staff currently absent with COVID or self isolating, and the impact this is having on an essential service where appointments can’t just be postponed. I’m the one service users contact when they have been (sometimes shockingly) adversely affected by the impact of COVID so I am extremely well aware of the impact on service users as well as staff.

At one point we were 30% of clinical staff and 90% of administrative staff down.

It’s not really that hard to work out, is it? But yeah, everyone just do what they want, it’s not like it’s having any negative effects on anyone, eh?

I really hope none of the people responding here that they’re ignoring the rules are those contacting the NHS to complain about restrictions and waiting lists.

I should say, I don’t judge others for bending the rules. People going to illegal mass parties, mass protests and people not generally giving a thought how their actions affect others, yes.

An adult allowing their friend to pop over where both have made an informed choice and are aware of the risks, no.

I gave up sticking to the rules after Cummings went to Barnard Castle - since then I have used my own judgement

No we aren’t anymore aside from masks in shops etc. we had friends over at the weekend one of the days it was nice so we sat outside as we would have done pre covid anyway but the other day was awful so we sat inside.

My 8 month old is now having play dates indoors with other babies and seeing the joy on their faces is more than justification that I am doing the right thing. We have seen family indoors throughout as I wasn’t prepared to only pick one set of grandparents for our under 1 support bubble. I am more than done with collective responsibility when it is impacting the development of my baby who is my number 1 priority. We live in an area with extremely low cases and most of our family are vaccinated. 1 in 1000 people have covid at the moment and the hospitals are empty in my opinion we have done enough.

If you don’t like the law/rules then don’t vote conservative!

I don't vote conservative.